Tag Archives: government
FOMC pledges to keep loan interest rates at historic levels
Loan interest rates are at the top of mind for most every consumer and business owner in todays economy. The economic collapse that led to one of the worst recessions in the past fifty years has affected every borrower in the country. The government quickly approached the FOMC to work to create a plan to free up capital and help keep the economy moving forward by drastically lowering interest rates. The drop with Fed interest rates helped bring down rates on car loans, credit cards and mortgage loans, helping consumers and businesses improve their financial balance sheet with lower payments.
Consumers and business owners who have been able to obtain a loan over the last two years should have benefitted with historically low rate loan offerings. The drop with interest rates allowed banks to continue borrowing money from the Federal Reserve and benefit with improved margins, while offering consumers incentives to refinance their home mortgages and businesses to benefit from lower rates on their variable rate credit loans. The ability for borrowers to obtain low rate financing was a key component with the government pushing the Federal Reserve to aggressively assist to help contain the economic crisis.
The prospect of low interest rates being available for the balance of the year were all but guaranteed by Chairman of the Fed Ben Bernanke in testimony last week. The Fed has made clear that they will not look to raise rates without a strong signal that the economy is on solid footing. The Fed will closely monitor the labor markets with an expectation that the economy should start producing new jobs in the second half of 2010 as well as the real estate market to monitor home sales. Consumer confidence is certainly an area that has been hurt by the economic catastrophe and the Federal Reserve and government are both acutely aware of the lack of confidence main street has in the government as well as banking industry.
Lending will continue to draw the highest scrutiny from the public and government as groups monitoring the banking industry will try to push for additional funds to help spur growth. To date, the banks have been very hesitant to begin lending to small business owners and consumers who have sought out personal loans. The lack of financing by the lending market has been detrimental to helping create job growth as well as spur purchasing which could help the economy. Consumers who historically obtained signature or personal loans from their banks have found limited financing options for borrowing money without collateral in the new banking world. Limiting these options tends to push consumers into higher rate alternatives such as cash advance loans, payday loans and credit card cash advances. Savvy consumers are also exploring beginning relationships with credit unions, which have significantly grown in popularity over the past twenty four months with their ability to fulfill a critical portion of the lending market.
Interest rates should stay low and this is the best news for the market, as additional financing options become available to consumers and businesses look for a heightened pace to the economic recovery.
Congress Debt Talks Fall Short Again
The debt talks Congress has held as a result of the failure to meet the debt ceiling deadline over the summer have failed at their intended purpose of creating a deficit agreement. Lawmakers have reached a standstill and much of the talks have devolved into partisan bickering. If the talks don’t change direction by the deadline on November 21, this will result in over $1 trillion in cuts to many social programs and military spending.
This is not the first time government leaders have had problems cooperating to come up with solutions to the nation’s debt crisis. The talks between President Barack Obama and Speaker John Boehner fizzled out with no lasting solution for the American people. And the Bipartisan Deficit Commission, formed earlier this year, also made insignificant progress towards the goal of saving America’s financial future. Just using the previous year as an example, it should be clear to many Americans that their government does not have a proven track record of cooperation towards the greater good. Instead, many Americans may feel let down by their government leaders, who just don’t seem to be able to see eye to eye.
Things tend to be much simpler for individuals when they’re looking to solve their debt problems. Sometimes, when one consumer is looking for help managing his or her finances, short term loans are a popular option. Among the most popular types of short term loans are collateral loans, which allow a borrower to give something they own to a lender temporarily in exchange for a loan. And in this category of loans, car title loans are one type of loan that consumers choose because they often find the process easier than other loans. Car title loans don’t require a credit check, and come with lower interest rates and longer repayment periods than other short term loans. For comparison, “check advance” loans often charge interest rates approaching 1000% APR and usually need to be paid back within a week. Further information about title loans is widely available online. But the best source for information is industry blogs, such as those that are found on http://tfciloan.com and http://acartitleloan.com
Obviously, the entire government will not be able to solve the country’s debt problems by taking out car title loans. It would be a nice thought, but when you’ve got a gross debt of over $15 trillion, short term loans simply aren’t going to do it. The only solution to America’s deficit problems is for Congressional leaders to begin working together and cooperating across party lines instead of plain old “politics as usual.” With the country’s economic future in the balance, politicians should learn that these games are not helping anyone.